November 16, 2018

Sen. Diamond: "Ranked-choice voting is the law. We have a responsibility to follow it."

AUGUSTA
— Earlier this week, Congressman Bruce Poliquin filed a
lawsuit against Maine Secretary of State Matthew
Dunlap regarding the implementation of ranked-choice voting in his tight
congressional race with Jared Golden. In the complaint, Poliquin cited
out-of-context remarks made by former Secretary of State and current State
Senator Bill Diamond of Windham to support this complaint.

In
response to the lawsuit, Sen. Diamond released the following statement:

“It
has come to my attention that Congressman Poliquin has referenced me in an
attempt to support his lawsuit against the Secretary of State. Having run
statewide elections in Maine for eight years, I've had a unique experience with
all aspects of voting and elections in general. Therefore, my experience told
me that there was a potential for logistical problems with implementing
RCV. Even though I have specific concerns with ranked-choice voting, I
want to be very clear: Ranked-choice voting is now state law. It ought
to be followed. Secretary Dunlap and his staff are doing a superb job following
the law as written and the people of Maine can rest assured and be confident in
the sanctity of their votes.”

Sen.
Diamond served as the Maine Secretary of State from 1989-1997. In the Maine
Senate, he currently represents the people of Windham, Raymond, Standish,
Casco, Baldwin and Frye Island. Sen. Diamond also serves on the Legislature’s
Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee and Government Oversight
Committee.